VMAs: Miley Wins With 'Wrecking Ball,' But Beyoncé Saves the Show

INGLEWOOD, California — In a night that was itself a bit of a wreck, Miley Cyrus won top honors at the MTV Video Music Awards — Video of the Year — for "Wrecking Ball." But Beyoncé saved the VMAs from a total teardown.

Sunday night's show started strong, wasting no time getting to the performances everyone wanted to see: Ariana Grande opened with "Break Free," the first of a three-piece medley that continued with Nicki Minaj doing a slinky, jungle-themed "Anaconda" — and wrapped up with costume-changed Grande and Minaj joining Jesse J for a rousing first-set closer "Bang Bang."

Then, one commercial break later, Taylor Swift came out for her debut live performance of "Shake It Off." Not 20 minutes into the show, the VMAs had us wondering what there'd be left to see ... and for the better part of 90 meandering minutes, we kept on wondering.

It was worth it to stick around.

Beyoncé closed the show in dazzling, forceful fashion, appearing to actually sing much of "Drunk in Love" decked out in a bejeweled once-piece. A couple of weeks shy of her 33rd birthday, Beyoncé was in absolute peak form; with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy watching nearby (and appearing often on the giant screen behind her), Beyoncé blazed brightly through her entire set, concluding with "XO" and a warm laugh as crowd, stunned in genuflection, roared its approval.

But the moment was just beginning.

Image: Jason LaVeris

With the cameras still live, Jay-Z brought Blue Ivy onstage, cradling her in one arm as he turned to his wife, who was wiping away sweat and tears. Calling her "the greatest living entertainer," he handed her the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, which might as well have been the MTV Thanks For Saving Our Awards Show award.

"I have nothing to say, but I am full of so much gratitude," Beyoncé said. "Blue I love you, my beloved I love you, MTV I love you, my fans I love you ... goodnight!"

It was a touching, goosebump-raising closer to what was otherwise a dud of a show. The VMAs, known for daring, out-there performances and other jaw-dropping moments failed to produce much fodder for the watercooler; there was no twerking, no meat-dress, nothing to fire up the Monday-morning moral outrage machine.

Even Miley Cyrus' version of a twist was pretty tame — to shed light on the problem of homeless teens, she brought one as her date, then had him accept her award on her behalf. Cyrus beat out Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea, Sia and Pharrell Williams — the other odds-on favorite — for the award.

Fifth Harmony was the night's biggest surprise winner, taking Artist to Watch over Sam Smith, Charli XCX, 5 Seconds of Summer and Schoolboy Q. Even the singing group seemed shocked by their own win — and had trouble finding their way off the stage. As they did, Robin Williams' face popped up onscreen for what looked like would be a tribute — but it lasted all of 5 seconds, with Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars" not even reaching a full verse before the telecast went to commercial.

Niki Minaj at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.

Image: Kevin Winter

It was one of many puzzling, awkward (and frankly, boring) moments that included a handful of technical glitches and an apparent wardrobe malfunction that forced Minaj to physically hold her tiny top together — but failed to produce any pixilating. "We ran out of time to get the dress zipped up," she later said in the press room, appearing unfazed.

Katy Perry won the night's first onstage award for Best Female video with "Dark Horse" (ft. Juicy J): "That's a nice way to start out the night, getting a moon man!" said Perry, who had just rolled up on the show not 5 minutes before in a sparkling copper Lamborghini Aventador.

In between awards presentations, Saturday Night Live impersonator extraordinaire Jay Pharoah lit up Jay-Z and Kanye West, to the apparent delight of Kim Kardashian West and kid sister Kendall Jenner, who were front-and-center in the audience.

Earlier in the night, as music's biggest stars hit the red carpet with one daring fashion statement after another, a dark cloud was hanging — the overnight shooting at Chris Brown's pre-party in West Hollywood, where rap mogul Suge Knight and two others were wounded. While Knight and the two other victims recovered at Cedars Sinai, the show went on 10 miles directly south at the Forum, the former home of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the show began, the red carpet hosted a parade of nominees, performers and other VIPs. One after another they showed up in varying degrees of music glam, from Amber Rose's slinky chains to Charli XCX's yellow tiger-print.

Charlie XCX at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.

Image: Mark Ralston/AFP

Beyoncé actually had the most shots at a moon man trophy with eight, including "Drunk in Love," which was beaten out for Video of the Year; she picked up trophies for best collaboration ("Drunk In Love"); best video with a social message and cinematography ("Pretty Hurts"). Iggy Azalea and Eminem, right behind her with seven nominations, were shut out.

The night's first moon-man was technically handed out to 5 Seconds of Summer for "Best Lyric Video," an all-new category at this year's ceremony, as Mashable first reported. The Australian pop punk band picked up their trophy on the red carpet, before the show began.

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